An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

Grace was telling the truth. No matter how strong someone’s willpower was, tiny tells always gave them away when they lied. To an ultimate grandmaster, those tells weren’t just noticeable, but they were amplified a hundredfold.

Most of what she said was true. She’d simply laced it with a few well-placed lies. Truth and falsehood blurred together until no one could tell them apart.

The breakthrough technique she claimed to have found in the ancient manuscripts was real. However, she never promised it would work or how far someone could get with it. Just in case, she’d made sure to cover her tracks.

Grace had copied the technique exactly as written, so she could swear a binding oath that it was authentic. But she had also scrambled key parts of the instructions and built two conflicting cultivation paths into it. That way, neither Zeus nor Hera could detect the sabotage or break through.

Grace had poured time and effort into the deception. To her, his sudden threat was nothing more than a test.

When Zeus couldn’t separate truth from lies, he turned to intimidation. She saw through the tactic but said nothing about it.

Grace wasn’t afraid. She knew Zeus and Hera didn’t have the cultural context to comprehend the technique. In the end, they still needed her to interpret and explain it.

That was why she was sure he wouldn’t hurt her. And as expected, the moment she swore the oath, his grip loosened.

“Hmph. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt just this once,” Zeus said with a straight face. “But your breakthrough technique is somewhat unusual. Until we fully comprehend it, you’re not going anywhere.”

came for. Isn’t it time you held up your end of the deal and left?” Grace shot back, her brow

over the real technique,” Zeus replied firmly. ” But we’re not convinced it’s authentic.

out in a day, you’ll

“Exactly!”

book was far beyond the two royal

it on their own. They needed her, both as a

long

better help us understand this

leaving Embercrest Hill anytime soon. As

stand a chance against

have nothing more to say. Just promise me you’ll keep your word

break through, you’ll become a major contributor to the Hall of Gods. How could we bring ourselves

in the temple. Make yourselves comfortable. But let me be clear-no more violence.

“Got it.”

agreed in unison, then stepped inside the ancient

now, neither of them pressed their advantage. Even if they had the books, they couldn’t decipher them without Grace’s help. That fragile dependency kept a temporary truce